Bittersweet Chocolate-Almond Cake With Amaretti Cookie Crumbs Recipe (2024)

I've made a version of this cake. It's heaven. As a former professional baker, I suggest if you don't want the glaze to be runny (or really soft, as the recipe indicates) reduce the cream. Another tweak: use semisweet chocolate and omit the sugar.However, once again, I ask, why does the Times insist on not giving alternative methods for those (including myself) who don't own the specific equipment? No Food Processor? No Problem -- Do this: and tell your readers how.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Lazzaaroni brand of Amaretti (which are the classic Amaretti): each paper covered Amaretti contains 2 cookies; therefore, when recipe calls for: '6 double amaretti cookies' you actually will need 12 individual amaretti. Same for the glaze: 2 double amaretti cookies equal 4.

Nut tortes. Rich, short, old news and fantastic. I make a hazelunut recipe that my Italian relatives handed down to me. Readers that don't have a food processor don't need an alternative method they will probably just head out and get a bag of Bob's nut flour at the supermarket.

Elle, I was just about to make the same request. I gave my food processor to my daughter since she had more use for it than I who, at 82, live alone and only used it around Christmas. I'm almost sorry I did because, like you, I want alternative methods for those of us who don't have the equipment specified in a recipe.I will try this one working with my blender and by old-fashioned mixing with my trusty wooden spoon. Wish me luck folks!

Agreed. I would never use slivered or flaked almonds. Ground almonds and almond flour are staples in my pantry. Also, a glaze made with whipping cream, regular sugar, and cocoa is just as good and stays shiny even when refrigerated. Just google cocoa glaze.

It's a surprisingly light cake. Worked well with ginger snaps rather than amaretti, and without the sugar and water in the glaze. Cool it outside of the cake pan as soon as you take it out of the oven to insure it doesn't overcook / dry.

As others have noted, the "batter" for this cake seems much too thick while it is being made. Fear not, all will be well. In our case, my wife selected this cake for our Christmas Eve family dinner dessert.Trick: I pour melted butter into the cake pan and swirl it around the bottom and sides instead of buttering the pan. I then put the parchment paper down on the wet butter, pressing it flat in the butter before turning the paper over and replacing it with the "buttered" side up.

There is no almond extract, fake or otherwise, in Lazzaroni Amaretti di Saronno. According to the can, which I am holding, it contains sugar, apricot kernels (20%). egg white. and ammonium hydrogen carbonate (a rising agent). The apricot kernels provide the amaretto flavor. To my mind this is a much stronger "bitter almond" taste than from almonds themselves. I agree however that the sweetness is pretty overwhelming. They are, after all, macaroons.

Although there is not a ton of sugar in this recipe the amaretti cookies make it quite sweet. They use fake almond extract to make those and I have always found them kind of weird tasting. The cake is easy to make - like dense dark fudge - but if I was to make it again I would find a less-sweet, better cookie to use, something almond or hazelnut based.

In case others are wondering, amaretti cookies are typically gluten-free: I just checked. Apparently a few brands contain small amounts of gluten as a thickener, so do check the ingredients label carefully.

This sounds amazingly delicious and similar to the flourless chocolate cake I obsessed over months to make 'perfect' while I was attending the Cordon Bleu in Paris in the '80's. The addition of Amaretti is truly inspired, I cannot wait to try it!!! YUMMY!

Try ginger snaps or graham crackers. Maybe even chocolate wafers. You don't want to mess with the solid/liquid ratio.

Although there is not much sugar in this recipe the amaretti are almost pure sugar and as such it was too sweet for my taste, plus I've always found the taste of amaretti to be a little fake. It was very easy to make however and looked great, I might try it again with a different type of cookie.

But if you read the accompanying article, the food processor is the whole point. Dori Greenspan calls the recipe "15 minute magic" precisely because you just dump a bunch of ingredients in the food processor and press the button. If you don't have a food processor, presumably Dorie would tell you to make a different cake.

Marvelous! Simone Beck has a flourless chocolate recipe that i feel is denser, but this is still very good!No food processer so a blender did the trick, albeit tiresome rattling it around and work to get it all out from the blades.No amaretti so i toasted some homemade chocolate chip cookies and threw in some almond extract.I live in the northeast of Brasil and ingredients are difficult to find and expensive. I used a 40% Callebaut chocolate for the torte and a 70% for the glaze.Loved by all

Ingredients in this updated recipe have been reduced by 1/3 or 1/4. It is a smaller cake than the original. Not realizing this until after baking, I blindly went ahead and used the 9” pan that I had always used before. The disappointing result was a 1” high cake that was done in 20 minutes. Anyone who’s made this cake regularly before the update, please note.

I've never seen a cake so lumpy and uneven.Sigh.

Didn't make this until 2023, but I've since made it four times in three weeks. Doubled, the recipe makes 50 mini-muffins in foil cups. When cool, chill, then top with ganache (ordinary — as if it could be — just cream and chocolate.) Chill and serve cold. Scrumptious little morsels that keep well in a tin in the fridge and satisfy the urge for a little something chocolate, and the need to conjure up something nice for guests — expected or unexpected. Freeze half of them for later. Thank you.

Can you make this cake in advance? I'm trying to pace out my baking for Saturday (today is Wednesday) and was wondering ho

Our wedding cake was made from amaretti cookies but had tiny chocolate chips instead - no chocolate overall, frosting was white chocolate buttercream. Baker left town 30 years ago - trying to recreate - this looks somewhat close. What will happen if I don't put in the melted chocolate?

I topped mine with regular ganache in place of the glaze (skipped the water and sugar, doubled the cream and chocolate). The cake was wonderful; a keeper. We liked it best chilled. It was rather like chocolate truffles.

Had almond flour, so used the same measure for that, worked great. Didn’t have enough chocolate, or any cream, to make the glaze, so I warmed up and spread some salted caramel sauce on top, then the crushed amaretti. Served with a side of raspberry sorbet. Fabulous!

Amazing. Simple (more like elegant). And it’s absolutely delicious. I would insist on serving it with softly whipped cream (sweetened & spiked with some vanilla perhaps).

find cookies at Central Market

A big hit with my coworkers. My boss asked for the recipe cause she shared some with her husband who loved it. My pan was probably 9 inches and I baked it for 25 min and it came out perfectly. I used Ghiardelli 60% chips so no chopping.

Made this for Christmas Eve. I am a cook, not a baker or a dessert person. It was the easiest, most perfect cake I've ever made. I wanted to make it earlier in the year but in my area, amaretti cookies are only availble during the holidays. I will either stockpile amaretti cookies or order from Eataly!

This cake was well received by its audience! I had a ton of almonds, so I did start with whole almonds rather than almond flour and they seemed to process just fine in the food processor. Never made a cake in a food processor before and the ease of prep was a big plus, especially given the payoff. Used cocoa in the glaze. Will definitely make a gain, the amaretti nicely set this apart from other flourless chocolate cakes.

Just made this last night for Rosh Hashana dessert, big success! Everyone wanted recipe. Ground whole almonds in fp, used 60% ghiradelli chocolate chips. Baked in 8" springform pan for 25 minutes. Goofed with glaze by putting everything chocolate included in MW for 2 minutes at power 6 and vigorously stirred to sheen. Luckily It worked out beautifully. The ground amaretti on top add a nice touch. Looked and tasted great! Thank you Dorie!

I'm making this for the second time within a week for work. It was such a hit for a coworker's birthday, I wanted to share with those who weren't there that day. I follow the recipe to the letter (including measuring in grams) and it is perfect every time!

I've tried this cake twice and love the flavor. I used almond flour rather than almonds; I used the suggested weight, rather than volume, to measure it. My only issue is that both times I've baked this, it has fallen after I've removed it from the oven, despite a toothpick coming out completely clean, which I thought indicated that it was done. The second time, it rose beautifully, tested done with a toothpick, and then fell badly. Tasty, but DENSE! Any suggestions?